VVD calls for ban on orthodox Muslim groups

The Netherlands should be able to take legal action against religious organisations which undermine the state, according to a leading member of the right-wing Liberal VVD.

Halbe Zijlstra, who leads the VVD's parliamentary party, says in an interview with Trouw that protection for religious organisations should be removed from the statute books.

It is currently impossible to ban a religious organisation in the Netherlands, even if they threaten to undermine the law. Pressure has been mounting on the government to ban some orthodox Islamic groups which operate here.